Acting with Integrity

The July/August 2016 issue of Exchange focuses on sustainability — sustaining programs, sustaining cultures, sustaining childhoods, sustaining ourselves. In the final article in this issue, Bonnie's "A Manner of Speaking," she addresses the issue of integrity...

"Acting with integrity often goes unnoticed. There are no accolades because others can only see the result, not the challenging decision making that happen privately. So we need to talk about integrity in preparing teachers to be in classrooms. What does integrity mean in the life of a classroom, in the history of an organization, inside a teacher?

• Are we a profession where each of us is encouraged to live with integrity? 
• Are we a profession in which the integrity of a program or organization is built on the integrity of each teacher, each professional? 
• Do we make space for people to challenge decisions and practices? 
• Are we encouraged to act on our principles, to speak up, to speak out, and to challenge when what is happening is not in ­alignment with what we know and believe?

"Integrity is a choice. In our mission to the field, we at Exchange have mindfully protected our integrity. We know how fragile it is, how easily the reputation of an organization can slip. We appreciate that integrity is embedded in the little decisions we make; yet, as with each of you and your own organizations, some decisions have been more dramatic or painful than others. Often, to act with integrity, these must be private decisions. No one knows about these moments but ourselves. And that is as it should be. That is the message we need to share with emerging professionals. Integrity comes from within; we must build their knowledge of the right thing to do and challenge them to do it."

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